The
Howling 2: Your Sister is a Werewolf
1985
Director- Phillippe Mora
Cast- Christopher Lee, Sybil Danning, Annie McEnroe, Reb
Brown, Marsha Hunt
Howling 2 is nominally a werewolf movie
in that it has werewolves. It also has an ancient cult (pack?) led by a
sorceress queen, a gargoyle bat, an undead dwarf and so much weird stuff that it’s
just barely a werewolf movie.
The
story begins with a quote from Revelations (read by Christopher Lee) about The
Whore of Babylon, an allusion to the movies chief antagonist , Stirba (Sybil
Danning) the queen of the earth’s werewolves. A type of werewolf apocalypse is
coming. We don’t know what this means other than “all werewolves will reveal
themselves”, but it must not be good.
Their queen, Stirba, is
about to have her 10,000th birthday and they are apparently throwing
a big werewolf party to usher in the new age. Stirba is a type of Elizabeth
Bathory character. She appears as an old crone, but after the sacrifice of a
young girl, she transforms into the super-hot Sybil Danning.
Christopher Lee is an occult
investigator who has an extensive knowledge of werewolves. He leads a team to
Eastern Europe to destroy Stirba and her werewolf cult. He has to confront much
more than the standard werewolf problems. Stirba has the forces of darkness at
her command. She can cast spells, perform mind control, and summon a gargoyle.
The
original Howling is at least one of
the 3 best werewolf movies of all time. It was really scary and had
revolutionary werewolf designs. The Howling 2, on the other hand, probably
wouldn’t make anyone’s werewolf top10 list. It was generally panned by critics,
but what do they know? If the film hadn’t been called “The Howling 2” it probably
would have been better received. Much like Halloween 3, it has been maligned
for its departure from its source material. The Howling franchise was long and
varied and none of the other volumes lived up to the original. At least part 2
tries to do something different and fun.
The only
area where the movie is really lacking is in its werewolf designs. Most of the
werewolves look like either extra-hairy cavemen or at best extra-angry
Sasquatches. There are a few really good designs though. Veteran genre actor Freddy
Mayne has a small role as an elderly werewolf and they did a really good job of
capturing what an old werewolf looks like. Sybil Danning never goes full wolf
but spends a lot of time as a blonde hirsute she beast. She still manages to
look hot despite being covered in hair.
Howling 2 has a lot going for it, if
you’re willing to forget that it has nothing to do with The Howling. As previously stated, it’s weird. Along with the
sorcery there is a giant werewolf S&M orgy (you read that right) that seems
to last for half of the film. Sybil, in her main costume (a sexy leather and
brass design), looks like the lead singer of an 80s glam
band. It has a real frenetic energy, at times,
helped by its New Wave soundtrack. The location adds a lot of authentic
atmosphere. It was shot in Czechoslovakia
and the real castles and villages create the atmosphere of the old Universal
horror films.
The movie was obviously done with less resources that its predecessor, but
it’s one
of the best vehicles for Sybil Danning I’ve ever seen. She and Christopher Lee
have so much charisma, they make up for a lot of the movie’s shortcomings.
Christopher Lee hated the movie, probably because he was expecting something
more like the first film, but he still turns in a good performance and is
entertaining.
Watch the movie if you want
something crazy weird or if you just like Sybil Danning.
Fun fact- This movie has a special Hammer films connection.
Not only does it star Christopher Lee himself, it also stars Marsh Hunt as
Mariana, an up and coming werewolf in Stirba’s cult. Marsha is probably better
known for her role as Gaynor in Dracula 1972 A.D. (which also starred Lee).
